drones

The unmanned drone plummeted in the Neuse river yesterday afternoon during a routine training exercise. Cherry Point officials do not yet know what caused the drone to crash. First Lieutenant Maida Kalic says the Cherry Point Fire Department has been conducting searches alongside the Township Nine Fire Department.

This week on the Down East Journal, we take part in drone testing with the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort. From tracking sea turtles off our coast to collecting information about marine debris, drones are proving beneficial to coastal scientists. And, traffic congestion around Camp Lejeune has police cracking down on motorist blocking a major intersection.

Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort is involved in research using drones to document marine debris on beaches around the world. We discuss the RACE FOR WATER project, how plastics impact the environment and how similar drone technology eventually be used along the coast of North Carolina.

This week on the Down East Journal, State Chief Information Officer Chris Estes tells us about the future of drone technology in North Carolina and how drones could be used by law enforcement, in hurricane recovery and agriculture. And, a former reporter for the Jacksonville Daily News steps into the world of crime fiction with book one in a series featuring a Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent based at Camp Lejeune. More on that story, Friday at noon on all of the PRE stations, and Saturday at noon on News and Ideas.

Some say sparsley populated Hyde County is the perfect site to test unmanned aerial vehicles. The county is in the process of submitting a proposal to be one of six FAA approved testing sites for drones.